Insecticidal repellent



United States Patent 2,991,220 INSECTICIDAL REPELLENT Willis Nels Bruce,Champaign, Ill., assignor to Lee Ratner, Miami Beach, Fla.

No Drawing. Original application Jan. 31, 1958, Ser. No. 712,333.Divided and this application Jan. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 3,280

7 Claims. (Cl. 167-22) This application is a division of my copendingapplication Serial No. 712,333, filed January 31, 1958.

This invention relates to an insect control composition and has moreparticular reference to a combination of insecticide and insectrepellent for protection against insects.

In my copending application, Serial No. 570,696, filed March 12, 1956,now Patent No. 2,937,969, entitled Fly Repellent, I have disclosed asthe active ingredient of a novel insect repellent di-n-butyl succinateand other n-propyl and n-butyl diesters of maleic, fumaric, and succinicacids, all having the desired repellent characteristics and persistence.That application is directed to the combination of such repellents withcertain materials among which may be mentioned piperonyl butoxide,isosafrole, and various unsaturated fatty acids and fatty acid esters,which exert a synergist effect upon the repellents.

I have discovered that combinations of those repellents with certaininsecticides, such combinations being hereinafter sometimes calledinsecticidal repellents, produce a synergistic interaction providing notonly relatively rapid insecticidal action with a residual repellencysurviving such action, but also repellency and toxicity in thecombination which are substantially greater, respectively, than therepellency of the repellent and knock-down properties of the insecticidecombined therewith when used separately.

-1 have found that any of Diazinon (phosphorothioic' acid0,0-diethyl-O-(2-isopr0pyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl) ester), malathion,Korlan (0,0-dimethyl-O-(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl), phosphorothioate), orother organic phosphate insecticides; when combined with the repellent,result in an insecticidal repellent having the advantageous interactionbetween the repellent and insecticide and, to a greater or lesserdegree, the stabilizing effect just mentioned above.

An object of the invention is the provision of a novel insecticidalrepellent which is of great value in protecting cattle, horses, hogs,and other animals from insect attack. It is also exceedingly useful inthe home in reducing the number of houseflies, mosquitoes, cockroaches,ants, silverfish, and other annoying insects.

The invention is also useful in the preservation of stored grain andother products subject to insect damage in storage. The novelinsecticidal repellent is exceedingly effective in controlling insectsin barns and other buildings where flies and the like breed profuselyand prove highly annoying and from which dirt, contamination, anddiseaseare spread. in short, the composition prepared in accordance withmy invention may be employed in any situation where insecticides orrepellents are now used.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an insecticidalrepellent wherein certain insecticides, contained in a compositionprepared in accordance with my invention, are now useful where suchinsecticides alone are dangerous.

The use of certain exceedingly effective insecticides is dangerous orforbidden for many purposes. For instance, the list of insecticidespermitted for the control Ice 2,991,220

of flies on dairy animals or in dairy barns is highly restricted becauseof danger to the animal itself or because of the possibility of theinsecticide being transmitted into the cows milk and so to the consumer.The use of certain insecticides is likewise hazardous in conjunctionwith meat animals in that the meat derived therefrom may carryinsecticidal residues to the human consumer.

A further object of the invention is the provision of" an insecticidalrepellent wherein a substantially smaller quantity of insecticide isrequired for the performance of a desired insecticidal function and thechance, therefore, of danger to the animal or to the human consumerisgreatly diminished. The approved insecticides may therefore be usedwithout painstaking control of quantity, and the prospects of other morehazardous insec-- ticides being approved for use on animals are good.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be" apparent from thefollowing description thereof, and the" invention consists in thecombination of one or moreof the above-identified repellents with one ormore of the above-identified insecticides to provide an insecticidalrepellent which has greater repellency or knock-down properties than thesame quantities of the repellent and insecticide in the insecticidalrepellent respectively have when used alone. 7

The novel composition is prepared preferably. as J a solution or mixtureof the repellent and insecticide in or with a suitable vehicle, carrier,or diluent. The proportions employed are such as to leave on the treatedsurface the desired amount or concentration of the insecticidalrepellent when'the directions for application of theinsecticide-repellent solution have been followed. Specimen solutionsare, for back rubbers and oil spray concentrate, about 20% insecticidalrepellent and No. 9" oil, kerosene, or other suitable mineral or vegetable oil; for an oil spray solution, I employ 0.5% corn binedinsecticide and repellent and the balance, No. 9 oil or the above statedequivalent thereof. In the event it is desired to make an oil spray fromthe concentrate -the concentrate may be further diluted from about 20 toabout 40 times with-No. 9 oil or its equivalent. An appropriate emulsionconcentrate is about 20% of combined insecticide and repellent and about10% of Atlox 1045A (p lyoxyethylene sorbitol esters of mixed oleic' andlauric acids) or other emulsifier, and balance No. 9

oil. In use, the emulsion concentrate may be diluted:

from about 5 to about 40 times with water.

For the sake of brevity I have herein used the term synergism. While Ibelieve this term is aptly employed in the description of my invention,the term potentiation of action has occurred to me as being less restrictive. It will be appreciated that the improved effective ness of thenovel composition may be attributable in part, at least, to thepreservative effect which the repellents exert on certain of theinsecticides. Mere preservation or stability of the insecticide is not,however, adequate to account for the improved repellency or for theaugmented knock-down effects of the composition when compared with therepellency of the repellent and the knock-down effects of the repellentand insecticide, respectively, when Another part, therefore, of theimproved used alone.

activity may be attributable tobiological factors. Possibly the improvedperformance may be attributable in Patented Jul 4, 1961..

3 part to still further factors of which I have no knowledge. The factremains, however, that a cooperative effect is noticed between theinsecticide and repellent which amply justifies the use of the termsynergism.

In discussing the eiiicacy of the novel insecticidal repellent referencewill hereinafter be made to knock-down time and repellency. Knock-downtime is determined by enclosing a counted number of flies in a Petridish having a filter paper therein impregnated with a stated quantity ofa stated impregnant in terms of milligrams per square foot. The efiicacyof the impregnant then is measured in terms of the minutes taken toachieve 100% knockdown of the flies.

Repellency is determined by folding filter papers impregnated with thestated quantity of impregnant in terms of milligrams per square foot soas to form a freestanding shallow conical cup. Weighed lactose pelletsare then placed in the bottom of each of the cups or inside the apex ofthe cone.

An exposure cage is provided with a horizontal turntable in it and aplurality of treated cups are deposited on the turntable about the rimthereof. Illumination and a source of water are likewise provided in thecage. Among the filter papers is included a check or control pellet inan untreated cup.

Flies are introduced into the cage on the basis of approximately 150flies per cup. The turntable is rotated slowly. At the end of a measuredperiod of time, or at about that time when the check or control pelletis totally consumed, the filter papers are withdrawn from the cage andthe pellets remaining dried and weighed. Repellency is expressed as thepercentage which the end weight of the pellet associated with anyparticular impregnant bears to the initial weight of the pellet.

In the following table the term repellent refers to the n-butyl diesterof succinic acid.

TABLE 1 Percent Knock- Formula MgsJsq. it. Time aged in RepeldownUltraviolet lency time in Minutes Repellent 100 4 hrs. 34 C.. 82 NoneRepellent 80 4 hrs. 34 C..... 69 None Diazinon 20 4 hrs. 84 O 12Combined S0 and 20 4 hrs. 34 O 90 12 Repellent 50 4 hrs. 34 C' 45 NoneDiazinon" 50 4 hrs. 34 0..-. O 11 Combined 50 and 50 4 hrs. 34 O 71 10Repellent 100 8 hrs. 34 O 45 None Repellent 90 8 hrs 34 C. 40 NoneMalathion 10 8 hrs 34 0.. 0 None Combined 90 and 10 8 hrs 34 C 77 155Repellent 50 8 hrs 34 C..... 26 None Malathlon. 50 8 hrs 34 C. 0 194Combined 50 and 50 8 hrs 34 C. 70 95 Re ellent 10 8 hrs 34 C- 6 None Maathion.. 90 8 hrs. 34 C- 0 162 Combined 10 and 90 8 hrs. 34 C- 58 90Repellent 100 4 hrs. 36 C... 80 None Repellent 90 4 hrs. 36 C. 77 NoneKorlan 10 4 hrs. 36 C.- 0 40 Combined 90 and 10 4 hrs. 36 O 89 35Repellent 50 4 hrs 36 O 51 None Korlan" 50 4 hrs. 36 C 0 84 Combined 50and 50 4 hrs. 36 O 65 31 Thus according to the invention, as to theinsecticides of the table, Diazinon from about to about 50%, malathionfrom about 2% to about 98% and Korlan from about 2% to about 50% byweight of the combination with the repellent provide the presentlypreferred insecticidal repellents wherein the repellent in each casemakes up the balance of the combination. I have, however, found thatacceptable results are obtained when the repellent ranges between fromabout 2% to about 99.5% and any one of those insecticides varies betweenfrom about 98% to about 0.5% by weight of the combination, the preferredproportions for the respective insecticides being Diazinon, about 50%;malathion, about and Korlan, about 80% with the repellent in each casemaking up the balance of the combination.

'It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the combinationof repellents of the character here involved together with the abovedisclosed insecticides gives altogether unsuspected and unforeseenresults in augmenting the repellency of the repellent and the toxicityof the insecticide and maintaining the effectiveness of the componentsin both respects over a substantially prolonged period of time. Theeconomic consequences of my invention are important. Protection againstinsect attack for animals, households, stored grains, persons, etc, ismore easily, more effectively, and more permanently achieved at lowercost. This protection is achieved with greater safety in that theenhanced effectiveness of the insecticidal components which are in manycases toxic to some degree to animals and humans, makes possible the useof materially reduced quantities thereof. Of all the tested insecticidesin combination with the repellent, I have found the repellency and, in agreat majority of instances, the insecticidal effectiveness as well tobe greatly improved.

It is thought that the invention and its attendant advantages will beunderstood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent thatvarious changes may be made in the composition and ingredients thereofwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention orsacrificing all of its material advantages, the forms hereinbeforedescribed being merely preferred embodiments thereof.

I claim:

1. An insecticidal repellent comprising a combination of from about 2%to about 99.5% by weight of di-n-butyl succinate and from about 98% toabout 0.5% by weight of an organic phosphate insecticide selected fromthe group consisting of phosphorothioic acid 0,0-diethyl-O-(2-isopropyl-6-methyl 4 -pyn'midinyl) ester, malathion, and0,0-dimethyl-O-(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl) phosphoru thioate.

2. An insecticidal repellent composition comprising a combination ofdi-n-butyl succinate and 0,0-dimethyl-O- (2,4,5-trichlorophenyl)phosphorothioate wherein said succinate makes up from about 98% to about50% and said 0,0-dimethyl-O-(2,4,S-trichlorophenyl) phosphorothioatemakes up from about 2% to about 50% by weight of said combination.

3. An insecticidal repellent solution comprising a combination ofdi-n-butyl succinate and 0,0-dimethyl-O- (2,4,5-trichlorophenyl)phosphorothioate wherein said succinate makes up about 20% and said0,0-dimethyl-O- (2,4,5-tzichlorophenyl) phosphorothioate makes up about80% by weight of said combination.

4. An insecticidal repellent composition comprising a combination ofdi-n-butyl succinate and phosphorothioic acid0,0-diethyl-O-(2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl) ester wherein saidsuccinate makes up from about to about 50% and said phosphorothioic acid0,0-diethyl- O-(2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl) ester makes up fromabout 5% to about 50% by weight of said combination.

5. An insecticidal repellent solution comprising a com bination ofdi-n-butyl succinate and phosphorothioic acid0,0-diethyl-O-(2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl) ester wherein saidsuccinate makes up about 50% and said phosphorothioic acid 0,0 -diethyl0 (2 isopropyl 6- methyl-4-pyrimidinyl) ester makes up about 50% byweight of said combination.

6. An insecticidal repellent composition comprising a combination ofdi-n-butyl succinate and malathion 5 wherein said suceinate makes upfrom about 98% to about 2% and said malathion makes up from about 2% toabout 98% by weight of said combination.

7. An insecticidal repellent solution comprising a com- 6 ReferencesCited in the file of this patent King: US. Dept. of Agr. Handbook No.69, May 1954, pp. 219, 31 6.

Hanna: Handbook of Agr. Chem, 2nd ed., 1958, pp.

bination of di-n-butyl succinate and malathion wherein 5 2 2 301 saidsuccinate makes up about 20% and said malathion makes up about 80% byweight of said combination.

Smith: J. Eco. But. 42, June 1949, pp. 439-440.

1. AN INSECTICIDAL REPELLENT COMPRISING A COMBINATION OF FROM ABOUT 2%TO ABOUT 99.5% BY WEIGHT OF DI-N-BUTYL SUCCINATED AND FROM ABOUT 98% TOABOUT 0.5% BY WEIGHT OF AN ORGANIC PHOSPHATE INSECTICIDE SELECTED FROMTHE GROUP CONSISTING OF PHOSPHOROTHIOIC ACIDO,O-DIETHYL-O(2-ISOPROPYL-6-METHYL-4-PYRIMIDINY) ESTER, MALATHION, ANDO,O-DIMETHYL-O-(2,4,5-TRICHLOROPHENYL) PHOSPHOROTHIOATE.